Axis History Forum

This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjerne’s Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day.
Founded in 1999.

Hello! Here’s a link to some excellent rosters previously researched by Ken McCanliss relative to the generals/admirals of the NVA and Bundeswehr. For those interested, I’ve extracted the Knight’s Cross and German Cross in Gold recipients who became generals/admirals in the NVA and supplemented the entries with information from Fellgiebel and Scheibert.

NVA Oberst Walter Litzmann-Lehweiss was a Luftwaffe Oberstleutnant who commanded KG3 bomber squadron. Awarded the Knight's Cross in October of 1943. I don't know if he was aware of being awarded this high decoration or not since he was already been taken prisoner by the Soviets some months ago. He was half-Jewish by the way.

NVA Oberst Willy Riedel commanded the 6. Mot.-Schützen-Division from 30 October 1956-31 December 1957. Per das Ritterkreuz website ( http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/ ), it appears he is one in the same as the highly decorated Wehrmacht major. Froh and Wenzke give an alternate spelling for his first name: Willi.

That's the first time that I ever heard of a Oak Leaves winner joining the NVA after the War. To be honest, I sort of doubt it that NVA Oberst Willy Riedel and Wehrmacht Major Willy Riedel are one of the same. Although I did found out about Riedel in the Ritterkreuztraeger.com about him being an Oberst in the NVA,little is still known about him. He must have being captured after the Stalingrad battle.

Hello:
The 4 volume reference books on the recipients of the Oakleaves to the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross by Peter Stockert lists Maj. Willy Riedel as the 186.recipient of this award with date of 25.Jan.1943. He gives the following biographical data :
Shortly after this award date he was severely wounded by close proximity motar hit and became a PoW of Soviet forces near Stalingrad. A female Russian doctor nursed him back to health and he was then in the officers camp Jelabuga followed by the Antifascist School Krasnogorsk. Released in Nov.1947 he returned to Germany . Employed by the Landespolizei at different locations he was transferred to Rostock in 1951 . In 1949 this police force became the Kasernierte Volkspolizei of which he became a division commander from 1952 to 1956 in Prenzlau with rank of Oberst. He became deputy director of the Militaerakademie in Potzdam . He died on 10.Feb.1982 and was buried in Potsdam.
Bernhard H.Holst

One thing for sure, Willy Riedel probably never heard about his award and definately never received it. Feldmarschall Friedrich Paulus probably heard about his Oak Leaves award (178 receipent) but didn't recieve it personally. I wonder if their awards were given to their families only to have them taken away from them once that Hitler heard that they have gone over to the enemy?

Plenty of Wehrmacht soldier who later joined NVA were ashamed of wearing their Knight's Cross and German Cross in Gold decorations I believe. They denounced and refused to wear them anymore. They don't like being in a Nazi Regime anymore once the Soviets and the German Communists convinced them. Just a thought.

Oberleutnant Paul Landgraf,commander of Pz. Jag. Abt. 40 and Knight's Cross holder became an Oberst in the NVA. I believe Landgraf was captured during the final phase of the battle of Stalingrad in 1943 and never knew about his Knight's Cross award.

Job von Witzleben,German Cross in Gold holder, and related to Feldmarschal Erwin von Witzleben was an Oberst in the NVA and a SED member.

The separation of Markgraf from active service in 1958 was part of a calculated phase out of former Wehrmacht members from the NVA on the part of the SED Politburo. Once most of the hard work of building the NVA had been completed (during which time the DDR’s leadership was only too happy to have the services of experienced former Wehrmacht members), the SED Politburo ordered the transfer of over 450 “Ehemaligen” into the reserves. The transfers ran in three stages during the period of 1957 to 1960.

Here are a few snapshots showing the total number of former Wehrmacht members in the armed forces of the DDR:

1951: 3,516 total including 431 officers
1953: 4,824 total including 519 officers
1956: 4,837 total including 500 officers
1957: 5,371 total including 464 officers
1958: 4,703 total including 400 officers
1959: 4,095 total including 258 officers
1960: 3,883 total including 129 officers
1962: 4,475 total including 84 officers
1965: 3,502 total including 67 officers
1967: 3,322 total including 66 officers
1969: 3,187 total including 61 officers
1971: 3,085 total including 59 officers